My Belfast Impressions

My original aim to visit Belfast was to get a sense of the tragic history behind Ireland and to see the Giant's Causeway. Spending just a short two days was too short in a city that was rich with little historical nuggets such as the city where the Titanic launched, the coast where the Spanish Armada sunk, the Peace Line, Bloody Sunday in Derry.

Instead what i saw was what all the tourists see, I missed out on the museums ( sad to say ), went for the famous historical pubs, visited Bushmills briefly, missed out on the Peace Line (closed on weekends.. WHY Tourism Board WHY?). Maybe one day soon, I'll head back to Belfast again to cover it all.

Here's what I did though,
Visited the iconic Crown Liquor Salon

Went for Dinner there for an uninspiring Irish Stew (carrots, meat and potatoes)

Tried Champ - a Northern Ireland Creation (felt conned, it was mashed potatoes with Spring Onion)

Visited the Old Bushmills Distillery, the home of the world's first Whiskey distillery. I really liked the smell of the hops in the air. It was just so aromatic.


The rest I have more or less covered in the earlier entry. One thing I liked about their restaurants was the large number of sauce sachets they had. (tomato sauce, brown sauce, mustard, mayo, tare tare)

University Halloween Party

Just went for my first Halloween Party in Ireland. Thanks to the university student committee for organizing this ! The venue was small and cozy, people streamed in gradually. High, costumed, and happy ! Still, i'm wondering how Zouk and our own funky Singaporeans will dress up this year ~ Here's missing home a little bit...

Back from Belfast

Belfast. The last of all my trips in Ireland. Don't get me wrong, Ireland is a beautiful country by itself. But stunning scenery after stunning scenery, after a while, all the coastal views + natural wonders + green pastures look the same.

The city by itself was pretty cool, much bigger than Dublin, buildings are taller, shops open later. Pubs are better ! Looking around, you will not get the sense of the legendary violent history that went past this city just a few years ago, protestant versus catholic.


Little lucky things happen to us on the way, like suddenly seeing this street march on the road.

Finding the Belfast politically charged murals

Locating the restaurant, Morning Star, named as Ireland's Best 100 pubs, and also for its pub food.

Finding the famous rope bridge open in the last week of the year.



Now for the unlucky, getting pelted by HAILSTONES when I was making my way back on the rope bridge. It was a cold, windy day to begin with. I was wearing my overcoat, jacket, 2 long sleeve shirts AND still freezing my ass off. As we made our way to the rope bridge, the sun came out. It was beautiful... blah blah blah.


The night before, we met a bunch of happy backpackers in the dorm that we were staying in. Happy, because they were all a bunch of strangers playing drinking games. The three of us already had a bottle of whiskey among ourselves, popped out the bottle of gin that I bought, started to drink their beer, cider and vodka. The night went by in a really hazy way, the next morning = HANGOVER. While hungover, I lose my contact lens down the sink. Hungover + Blind.

After we crossed the bridge over to the island, it started raining. There was no shelter. As we crossed the open, exposed bridge, rain started coming down on us. Then it felt like someone was literally slapping my face. Then i looked down and saw little white stones at my feet. HAILSTONES. Such is the nature of Irish weather, you get something new every 5 mins.



The Giant's Causeway was stunning, but after the rain and hailstones (Cold + Hungover + Blind + Wet), i was looking like a deranged person wondering around a bunch of rocks.

Acquiring a love for ...

There are so many little details in my latest trip that I want to share, but impossible to do them all. Some of the foodie highlights that I appreciated was discovering pearl barley.

I love innards, you can give me hearts, kidney, liver, intestines whatever any day. I blame it to my Cantonese upbringing where there is a "leave nothing behind" mentality, and "fear factor" tasting where my grandma would ask me to close my eyes and taste different exotic foods. So I order a beef tripe Hungarian style stew, when offered potatoes or pearl barley. I naturally went for the 'different' one.

Beef trip stew was so-so but the real wonder was the pearl barley in the picture. Eaten like rice or risotto-style, I never knew that you could cook barley like that. Was so inspired, I bought a pack of pearl barley from my local Tesco and it is one of my staples now. It is not soft or squishy or sweet. The pearl barley just sucks up and complements the taste of the stew. By itself, it is like rice, tasteless but with a good chewy texture.


Another different thing that I have learn to appreciate was Poppy-seed. Being a person who simply likes new experiences, I just randomly picked out pastries, since there was no labels nor do the staff speak any English. I suppose it is partially my good fortune that a)I have no allergies that I know of and b) I eat literally everything. One of the most pleasant surprises that I had was finding a strudel in Budapest that had a poppyseed & apple filling. Tasting somewhat like sesame, with that aromatic goodness, but yet slightly lighter on the palate, I seriously liked it alot and started to look for all sorts of pastries with it. Some items that I found throughout was grind-up Poppyseed with sugar on bread, poppyseed filling with nuts. When i do buy my first oven, this is on the list of things that I will try to bake.


Alphonse Mucha, I know that I left a piece of my heart with him over in Prague. Discovering his works all over Prague in souvenir shops, I was wondering who this artist was and then, I found his exhibition. It was love at many many sights. Now i swear that once I get my own apartment, I'm buying high-quality prints of his works, frame them and put them around my apartment. This collage from a bunch of images that I grabbed online just doesn't do him any justice at all.

Getting the biography of Alphonse Mucha from this website, Alphonse Mucha(1860-1939) was during his life-time the most famous artist of the Art Nouveau period; indeed, his imagery was so inextricably entwined with Art Nouveau that the entire movement was referred to by Goncourt as the'Mucha Style'. Famous throughout Europe and the Americas, he inspired other artists and designers who copied him and plagiarised him so that for years the image of the Muchaesque beauty surrounded by her characteristic symbols was enshrined in advertising, magazine covers and illustrations, book jackets, posters, paintings and numerous artifacts.

My Prague Absinthe Experience

I was randomly walking around Prague ( meaning: lost !) when I found this pub. I have heard about absinthe from many people, and tried it once in Shanghai. But in one of the few countries still making absinthe, I just had to try it.

Absinthe, also known as the Green Fairy, has thujone, compound inside wormwood that is used to make absinthe, giving it its kick. Normal absinthe has already 70%- 75% alcohol AND thujone. Two shots of absinthe and I will be in LaLa-Land. At the height of its popularity, many writers and artists based in Paris drank this for its hallucinogenic properties and claimed that many a famous work was credited to this amazing drink.

From the absinthe pub that I was in, there was two ways to prepare it. One was to do it via water. You drip water onto the sugar cube and let it slowly flow into the drink. Once you think that the water is enough, just enjoy!.


The next method was more kick-ass, it was the fire method. You down it like a tequila ! Almost. Heh. First, you have to quickly dip the sugar cubes into the absinthe. You set aside one on a plate. You let the other one burn, and use it to light the absinthe. Once the sugar cube is dissolved, you down it, then suck on the other sugar cube you had earlier set aside on the plate.


Instant drunkenness guarantee ! It gave a good buzz, tasted quite like sambucca. But i like the water method much better than the fire method. The fire method was nasty, meant to be purchased as a drink for people on their birthdays, stag nights, and other occasions where you want to mess around with them.



The next time if you are ever in Prague, after 7pm when most of the places are closed. Do check out the little lanes behind the National Theater. It is filled with many little local pubs and restaurants, away from the usual tourist areas. Home brewed beer, local food, wine bars, I could see many of the local people just chilling out in them.

The Ryanair Experience

My holidays in Europe would have never happened without Ryanair and Skyscanner. In fact, whenever i'm bored or when i have time, I make it a point to check out these two websites.

Thanks to them, practically all my air tickets, I just paid for the airport taxes or a 5 euro flat fee for my air ticket due to the promotions. In a way, thank you financial crisis ! -l-


But as many websites have shared. Traveling with Ryanair is not exactly a dream, normally, you get sent to faraway airports when the cost of traveling from the airport to the city is more than your airfare. You get delayed flights (yup!). You get flashbacks of your life when the plane tries to land (yup ! yup ! yup !). On their 737-800 planes, somehow I meet all the air turbulence that i have never met before on Asian airlines. (more flashbacks of my life!)

In order to save cost on Ryanair, I don't check in my luggage at all ( 5 euro saved !), I don't get travel insurance in case they lose my stuff or cancel my flight ( 10 euro saved !), no priority boarding ( who cares if you can get a seat?), disregard the fact that the flight flies at 6am in the morning ( sleeping in airports is something that i have extensive experience with now).

Other little things for the Ryanair experience, you can't get any sleep on the plane. Literally, the plane is loud, they play loud music. The airline crew earns a commission for every drink / food item they sell on the flight, so they tend to want waking, hungry/thirsty passengers around.

In spite of all the budget airlines that we have in Asia, nothing comes close to the price that Ryanair is offering. (S$40 including airport tax? beat that tiger air ! ) Maybe our budget airlines are not getting the economies of scale to lower the prices, the airport taxes in the region might be too pricey. But promoting more travel within Asia will be a good macroeconomic way to promote growth for Singapore, especially with our reputation for a hub. No ?

My General Impressions of Prague

Arrived at 6am in Prague on a night train, to see mobs of policemen paroling the station. The contrast was strikingly different from Budapest. We were staying in a relatively sleazy part of Prague but as a city, Prague was small and compact. Easily covered by foot, we half dragged ourselves around town.


Prague is separated as two towns, the New Town and the Old Town. The new town looks like a wider, greener Orchard Road. The Old Town is where all the beautiful architecture is.


The city felt like one giant walking postcard. I did not realise how true that was, until the next day, when I went up to Prague Castle. The biggest castle in the world. It felt like Disneyland for adults.




But Prague in general, is really a tourist town. The Old Town that i was referring to is overpriced, filled with tourists and souvenir shops. The attractions are priced almost out of the sky. In order for me to visit the Jewish Museum, even at a discounted student rate & not covering all of its sites, it was a close to a steep S$16. The Prague Castle, except for its free and magnificent cathedral, the rest was junk. Literally.


But look at this photo, who cares if it is or if it is not a tourist town. Breathtaking.

My General Impression of Budapest

Arrived in Budapest at night via Ryanair, both me and my friend just couldn't keep still and started to explore the city. Most of the sites can be easily covered on foot, so we spent a few hours walking in the dead of the night. The photos here are showing the famous Chain Bridge and Statue of Liberty.

We ended the night with a well-deserved drink at a local pub. Actually, Budapest is really quite affordable for the Singaporean traveller. For food, transport, or general items, I found that the prices are close to Singapore's or even cheaper in some cases. At the pub that I was having drinks in, it was S$1 for a beer, S$1.50 for a Bailey's, S$2 for 3 shots of tequila !


First impressions of Budapest were poor. When we first arrived, there were plenty of homeless people sleeping in the metro station, along the roads. As we walked, they were everywhere, just sleeping with a warm blanket out on the streets.

In one glance in any random direction, something would be under repair. Next was the fact that there was major graffiti all around the place. With all these factors in mind, you would think that i was running around in a war zone. But Budapest was a safe place to be in. Imagine 2 girls walking around on isolated streets at 2am in the night and nothing happened at all, I would call that quite safe. No?

The next day, we continued on our sight seeing to the Central Market and the Budapest castle. Another curious thing spotted in Budapest was the Nescafe car. In fact, not just one or two, I spotted three random cars parking in the same lot when we were making our way up to the castle.




Shall let the photos speak for themselves....

The last day in Budapest, we went for a Hungarian bath! I had a similar one before in Beijing during winter, this was the same. Natural hot springs with various pools, facilities & temperature, both indoors and outdoors. So i was hopping from room to room and pool to pool. Very fun !

Took the night train to Prague. In hindsight, I just realized why prices were so cheap when I got back. The same time we were there, the Hungarian government ordered a bailout for its banks. No wonder, the prices were so good. The currency was at an all time low against the Euro.

Pub Lunch and Seaside Walk at Dalkey

Went for a seaside walk with the gang at Dalkey today. Amazing weather, lovely views. Someone mentioned that this was the 2nd best view outside of Naples. I might or might not agree, but it's still all so beautiful.


We went to the most lovely pub that our host kindly brought us to.

I ordered a pint of Smithwicks, a local Irish beer, and a roast pork & brown sauce with lovely mashed potatoes, carrots and cabbage. Yum.

The exterior looks unimpressive, but lovely place, fantastic atmosphere.

The Club
17 Colliemore Road,
Dalkey,
Co Dublin

Hiking from Bray to Greystones

Weather was cloudy yet warm. Went for a picnic and hiking from Bray to Greystones today. I never knew that having a beer at a picnic by the sea could feel so refreshing!


After my 3 hour hike, spotted at a local store. The cutest macaroons and mushroom shaped chocolates called Mushroom in french ~ Kewl !